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Mikolaj Stanek, Renata Hosnedlová, Exploring Transnational Practices of
Ukrainian Migrants in Spain, Economics & Sociology, Vol. 5, No 1, 2012, pp. 62-73.
Mikolaj Stanek
Institute of Economics, Geography
and Demography
Spanish National Scientific Council
Spain
E-mail: [email protected]
Renata Hosnedlová
Institute of Economics, Geography
and Demography
Spanish National Scientific Council
Spain
E-mail: [email protected]
Received: December, 2011
1st Revision: February, 2012
Accepted: April, 2012
JEL Classification: F22, Z10
EXPLORING TRANSNATIONAL
PRACTICES OF UKRAINIAN
MIGRANTS IN SPAIN
ABSTRACT. This work examines three areas of
transnational behaviour of Ukrainian migrants to Spain:
travelling to the country of origin, the frequency of nondirect contact with the communities of origin and
remittances. Our objective is to examine how gender, legal
status and type of family unit (multilocal / non-multilocal)
affect transnational practices. Most of the statistical data
presented in this article come from the Spanish National
Immigrant Survey (ENI-2007). The study confirms that
family ties play a crucial role in establishing and
maintaining links between countries of origin and
destination. It also reveals that entry and residence
restrictions on Ukrainian migrants significantly reduce the
transnational mobility of irregular migrants. Finally, no
clear relation between gender and transnationalism was
observed.
Keywords: Ukrainian migration, Spain, transnationalism, gender,
irregular migrants, family.
Introduction
Immediately after the collapse of the communist system, the international mobility of
Central and Eastern European populations changed significantly. Along with the traditional
patterns that used to predominate in these regions, such as long term migration for economic
or ethnic reasons, new forms of mobility have appeared, such as circulatory migration and the
flow of temporary workers (Morokvasic, 2006; Wallace, 1999). These extraordinary crossborder flows have established links between receiving and sending countries and also
provided material for a thorough rethinking of the traditional nation-state-centred immigration
paradigm that saw East-West migration as a lineal and unidirectional process, with socioeconomic and cultural assimilation as the final outcome (Favell, 2008). In this context, the
concept of transnationalism has become one of the main analytical tools used to assess the
mobility patterns of Central and Eastern European populations (Morawska, 2002; Moskal,
2011; Rogers, 2004).

This research was undertaken as part of the project Migration strategies and networks in contemporary Spain:
A research effort based on the National Immigrant Survey funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and
Innovation (CSO 2008-03616/SOCI). The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for their helpful
comments and suggestions.
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Surprisingly, contemporary studies of economic migration among Ukrainians have
rarely focused on this transnational perspective. Yarova (2007) carried out one of the few
studies that have taken this approach by analysing how doing domestic work in Italy impacted
the family life of Ukrainian women in their country of origin. Along the same lines,
Tolstokorova (2010) examined the implications that Ukrainian migration to European
countries has for the transnational family field, emphasising issues surrounding gender,
maternity and paternity, and in a recent study, Solari (2010) compared the migratory patterns
of flows to California and Italy. Although the number of studies on Ukrainian immigration to
Spain has increased over the years (Hosnedlová and Stanek, 2007; 2010; Sánchez Urriós,
2010), the focus has not been on the transnational aspects of this phenomenon and therefore
relatively little is known about this phenomenon. In this article we examine certain empirical
indicators related to the transnational dimension of Ukrainian immigration to Spain. To be
precise, we explore how gender, legal status and type of family unit (multilocal / nonmultilocal) affect transnational practices of Ukrainian migrants residing in Spain. We analyse
three dimensions of transnational practices: travelling to the country of origin, frequency of
contact with the community of origin and remittances.
Conceptualising transnational practices
Within the past twenty years, a period that several writers date from the seminal article
on transnationalism published by Glick Schiller et al. (1992), several migration scholars have
shown that migrants maintain multiple ties with their countries of origin while they adapt to
the host society. Transnationalism involves multiple ties and interactions linking people or
institutions across the borders of nation states. Members of transnational communities move
easily between different cultures frequently maintain homes in two countries and pursue
economic, political and cultural interests that require a simultaneous presence in both.
Transnationalism has become a key dimension in the analysis of migration, providing
essential conceptual tools for explaining and understanding the current transformations of
population mobility patterns. Nevertheless, the enormous popularity of this approach has led
to a situation in which according to Vertovec (2003, p. 461): transnationalism seems to be
everywhere, at least in social science. Portes et al. (1999) suggests that there are dangers
inherent in seeking to broaden the definition of what constitutes transnationalism because in
doing so one risks diluting the efficacy of the theory; in the end, every aspect of migratory
praxis could be defined as a cause or consequence of transnational activity, thus
encompassing everything yet explaining nothing new. In order to avoid these risks, our study
borrows from the precise definition of transnationalism proposed by Portes et al. (2001, p.
182) who defined the concept as activities that require regular and sustained social contacts
over time across national borders for their implementation. One of the advantages of this
definition is that it allows us to establish a series of indicators of transnational practices which
maintain and reinforce ties between countries of origin and destination.
Numerous studies have indicated that one of the key elements of transnational
activities is direct contact with social networks and communities in the country of origin
through cross-border movement (Menjivar, 2002; Walton-Roberts, 2003). At the same time,
travelling to the country of origin and face to face contact with family members or friends
should not only be considered in terms of reinforcing sentimental relationships but also as an
important method of transmitting information about migratory destinations, economic
exchange and technological modernisation. In this sense, more or less regular visits or
circulatory mobility are factors that allow direct and intense interaction between migratory
communities and origin communities on various levels (homes, broad social networks,
associations, political groups or churches).
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Communication is another crucial dimension of transnational practices, as the vitality
of transnational links relies on the strength and intensity of social contacts across national
borders. A number of scholars stress the role of new communication technologies as a
fundamental feature of contemporary transnational practices (Hiebert and Ley, 2006). The
simultaneity and immediacy allowed by modern technologies significantly intensify and
expand transnational connexions (Portes et al., 2002). The telephone, internet and other ICTs
open up space for transnationalism as this form of communication can cross national
boundaries “without actual bodily movement” (Guarnizo and Smith, 1998, p. 14).
Remittances are another manifestation of transnationalism. Among transnational
practices the importance of „sending money home‟ has grown enormously over the past few
years. This practice plays a fundamental part in improving the short term economic situation
of families, although its contribution to economic development at the local and national level
is still being debated (Guarnizo, 2003). What is most important in the context of our study is
that remittances cause members of a family network living in countries of origin to become
economically dependent on resources coming from abroad, which reinforces ties across
borders.
Hypotheses
When studying the transnational behaviour of migrants our goal should be not only to
determine the scope and extension of these activities but also to identify possible correlates. It
has been suggested that a number of factors must be considered in order to understand what is
involved in transnational practices (Portes et al., 2007). First of all, one of the major
consequences of migration is the dispersal of the family unit both abroad and in the country of
origin. This new family structure links several local situations to an international setting and
shapes what has been termed by some authors the multilocal family (Mendoza, 2005).
Multilocal families can be regarded as an important factor which determines transnational
practices. Due to geographic mobility, the family unit is separated into various cells that meet
both in origin locations and in receiving countries. From a transnational perspective,
migration involves the physical separation or dispersal of the family unit, but that does not
mean that family members no longer have sentimental and economic ties with each other.
This new family structure links various local realities to an international setting and
configures what has been called the multilocal family (Glick Schiller et al., 1992).
Geographic separation and the lack of daily contact convert the family into an imagined
community which requires continual effort from its members to keep the links between them
alive. The possible linking mechanisms imply maintaining, reducing, reinforcing or
establishing links with family members (Bryceson and Vuorela, 2002). Hence, we expect
multilocal family members to be more likely to carry out transnational practices than nonmultilocal family members (H1).
In addition, various studies reveal that men and women undertake transnational
practices differently. Several analyses revealed that immigrant women pursue a more
transnational strategy in many cases with an eye to an eventual return, while man are more
engaged in the social life of the receiving communities (Hondagneu-Sotelo and Avila, 1997;
Pessar, 1999). In this sense, transnational practices reflect and simultaneously reproduce
social and power relationships that determine the sexual division of labour roles within
households. Moreover, in some cases differentiated reproductive roles in the family might
reinforce transnational behaviour (Itzigsohn and Giorguli-Saucedo, 2005; Menjívar, 2002).
On this theoretical basis we may expect Ukrainian women residing in Spain to be more
involved in transnational practices than Ukrainian men (H2).
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Another key factor that shapes the ways in which transnational connections develop is
the institutional and legal framework established by national and supranational policies.
National regulations on foreigners and migrants can either facilitate or limit the establishment
and development of transnational links in the context of migration (Waldinger and Fitzgerald,
2004). Immigration laws and the rights of migrants affect their ability to move across borders
and limit other forms of transnational behaviour. Irregular status in a destination country can
limit cross-border mobility and also lead to greater communication via new technologies.
Therefore, we expect Ukrainian migrants who stay irregularly in Spain to be less prone to
visit their communities of origin but more likely to stay in contact with close acquaintances in
communities of origin using electronic devices such as telephones (H3).
Data sources and methods
Most of the statistical data presented in this article come from the National Immigrant
Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes, ENI -2007) conducted by the National Institute of
Statistics in the beginning of 2007 with a sample of 15,465 people born outside Spain,
including 223 Ukrainian migrants. The universe of the ENI-2007 consists of foreign-born
residents of Spain, 16 years of age and older, who have been in Spain for at least one year.
The sampling procedure was three-stage and stratified. The first stage sample units were the
census sections and the second stage units were households in each selected sample section.
Finally, a foreign born person from each sampled household was selected randomly (Reher
and Requena, 2009).
The National Immigrant Survey provides a set of data that complement information
from traditional sources about the phenomenon of immigration such as censuses and
municipal registers. ENI-2007 contains a useful set of variables including family and
household geographic distribution, frequency of visits to the country of origin, remittances,
characteristics, frequency and methods of communication with family members and friends in
the country of origin, all of which can be used to carry out an analysis from a transnational
perspective.
Given that our study involves categorical variables the principal method of analysis is
based on the use of binomial logit regression models. Nevertheless it should be pointed out
that estimation may be biased due to relatively small sample size. Specifically, distributions
of small samples are usually highly skewed which results in coefficient overestimation. In the
extreme case of the asymptotic bias, the binary outcome variable is perfectly separated by a
single covariate or by a linear combination of the covariates. This separation may lead to
infinite coefficients and standard errors in estimations. In order to avoid estimation bias due to
relatively small sample size in our study we apply Firth‟s penalized–likelihood correction
which consists of introducing a bias term into the standard likelihood function which itself
goes to zero as N, but that for small N operates to counteract the O(N−1) bias1 (Firth,
1993; Heinze and Schemper, 2002).
In our analyses we introduce three dependent bivariate variables. Firstly, we will
analyse movements between places of origin and destination. It should be pointed out that in
our study we obtained data from a survey conducted in the host country. This offers only
limited possibilities to reconstruct all the possible patterns of immigrant mobility, since we
have no access to the people who have already returned to their location of origin after a
temporary stay in Spain. On the other hand, as already mentioned, the ENI 2007 sample
1
Additionally, small size of our sample also determined the number of covariates and the way they were
defined. Firstly, in order to improve asymptotic approximations used for testing our hypotheses, the number of
categories in each control variable has been reduced. Secondly, we also decided keep the number of control
variables to minimum.
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includes only migrants who at the time of the survey had either been in Spain for at least a
year or had the intention of staying in the country for at least a year. Taking into account these
limitations, we have tried to examine the issue of geographic mobility patterns of Ukrainian
migrants from the host country‟s perspective. The second dependent variable is the frequency
of telephone contact with acquaintances in the community of origin. The third indicator of
transnational practices in this study is the frequency of remittances sent to the country of
origin. In our analysis we also introduce several control variables such as age, time of
residence in Spain, educational level and occupational situation.
Ukrainian migrations to Spain – social and demographic characteristics
The history of Ukrainian migrations can be divided into four phases. During the first
phase (1897-1914) entire families headed to Canada, USA and, to a lesser degree, Latin
America. The following two migratory waves (1922-1939 and during the post-war period)
were predominantly political in nature. Starting in the second half of the 1980s the gradual
liberalisation of the political system in the USSR led to a steady change in the destinations,
intensity of flows and reasons for migration. The transformation of migratory patterns
increased after the country gained independence in 1991, due to various internal crises and the
deterioration of living conditions among the population (Düvell, 2007; Malynovska, 2004,
2006; Kotusenko, 2007). From the start of the 1990s immigration to traditional receiving
countries such as Canada, the United States or Argentina became less common and new
destinations in Central and Western Europe (Czech Republic, Poland and Germany) emerged;
although traditional receiving countries such as Russia and Israel remained common
destinations. By the turn of the century Southern European countries, such as Portugal, Spain,
Greece and Italy, appeared on the map of Ukrainian migrations (Malynovska, 2007).
The first Ukrainian economic migrants arrived in Spain in the mid 1990s. Although we
lack reliable statistical data for this period, we can assume that the influx was relatively large
because after the regularisation processes in 2000 and 2001 Spanish statistics displayed a
sharp increase in migrants of this origin. By the end of 2000, Spanish municipalities included
10,711 Ukrainians in their registers, of which 3.537 had residence permits. In the following
years the number of Ukrainians registered in the Municipal Register increased to 69.983 by
the beginning of 2007 and 82.373 by 2010 (see Figure 1). The period of largest influx was
2002-2004, in which the year-over-year growth rate reached 40%. During 2005-2007 the
number of registered people did not increase significantly, although between 2007 and 2008
there was another substantial rise in arrivals (Hosnedlová and Stanek, 2010). For purposes of
comparison, we have also included data related to Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish migrants
which, along with Ukrainians, constitute the largest collectives among the Central and Eastern
European residents in Spain. It can be observed that the increased weight of the population
from former socialist states in the whole of the foreign population living in Spain is due
mainly to the massive arrival of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants, for whom Spain and Italy
are the main migratory destinations (Marcu, 2007). It is also remarkable that while the Polish
immigrant population was the largest of all the groups coming from Central and Eastern
European countries in the 1990s, during the first half of the 2000s, the sharp increase in
Romanian and Bulgarian immigration left this group behind (Stanek, 2009).
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Mikolaj Stanek, Renata Hosnedlová
900.000
800.000
700.000
600.000
500.000
400.000
300.000
200.000
100.000
0
2001
2002
2003
Romania
2004
2005
Bulgaria
2006
2007
Ukraine
2008
2009
2010
Poland
Figure 1. Changes in the number of major immigrant groups from Central and Eastern Europe
in Spain 2001-2010
Source: Authors‟ own composition based on data from the Municipal Register 2001-2010,
National Institute of Statistics (Spain).
Results of empirical analyses
This section provides answers to the questions and hypotheses presented earlier.
Findings are presented as follows. Firstly, we describe some of the relevant characteristics of
the sample used in our analyses. Secondly, we report findings concerning the impact of
gender on transnational practices. Then we analyse the influence of geographic dispersion of
family members. Finally, we discuss the impact of legal status on transnational practices.
Table 1 shows features of the sample used in our study. Firstly, we focus on
transnational practices among Ukrainian migrants residing in Spain. It can be observed that
visits to Ukraine are rather infrequent. Approximately one third of the migrants surveyed visit
their country of origin at least once every two years. Therefore we can state that migration
between Ukraine and Spain is generally long-term, with a low occurrence of circulation. In
general, migrants maintain relationships with their communities of origin even after settling in
Spain. The most widely used means to communicate with people who live in Ukraine is the
telephone. Other means of communication are less common, although a considerable
proportion of people rely on e-mails for such purposes. As recorded in Table 1, approximately
83% of the Ukrainians surveyed declared that they stayed in contact with close acquaintances
(relatives or close friends) that live in their country of origin at least once a week. Finally,
approximately half of Ukrainian migrants declared that they sent money to their country of
origin at least once a year.
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Table 1. Summary statistics of sample data
Variables
total
%/
mean
Control variable
Independent variable
Dependent variable
N
Frequency of short stays in the country of origin (under three months’
duration)
At least every two years
Less than every two years
Frequency of phone contact with family and friend at origin
At least once a month
Less than once a month
Frequency of monetary remittances
At least once a year
Less than once a year
Geographic distribution of family unit members
Non-mulitlocal families
Multilocal families
Persons without immediate family (no spouse/partner/offspring)
Gender
Male
Female
Legal situation
Documented
Undocumented
Age (mean)
Time since first arrival at Spain (mean)
Years of education (mean)
Occupational situation
Employed
Unemployed/ non active
Number of cases
79
144
35.4
186
37
83.4
16.6
105
118
47.1
52.9
101
87
35
45.3
39.0
15.7
81
142
36.3
63.7
197
26
88.3
11.7
64.6
36.3
5.4
12.5
170
76.2
53
23.8
223
100
Regarding independent variables, the data reveal that the proportion of women is
considerably higher than that of men. Only one out of three Ukrainian migrants is male. Table
1 also shows the incidence of geographic dispersion of family members among Ukrainian
migrants in Spain. Following definitions presented in introductory parts of this article we
consider that multilocal families are those with at least one member living outside Spain. It
can be observed that in overall terms, the total number of non-multilocal families exceeds the
number of multilocal ones. Of the Ukrainians surveyed in ENI-2007, 45.3% declared that all
members of their families were in Spain, whereas 39% said that at least one family member
was in their country of origin or elsewhere. In addition, it should be noted that data on the
evolution of family composition by age and sex suggest that over the last few years an intense
process of family regrouping is taking place, which is additionally confirmed by official
figures on requests made for family reunification2; this explains why the proportion of people
with multilocal families has been decreasing lately in the Ukrainian immigrant population.
In 2007 approximately 12% of the Ukrainians living in Spain lacked the documents
required by the Spanish government for legal residence in the country. Ukrainian migrants
usually enter Spain with a tourist visa and remain in the country after it expires, becoming
undocumented irregular migrants (Hosnedlová and Stanek, 2010). The sample also reveals
2
The Ukrainian community is amongst the first 10 countries when it comes to obtaining a work permit by the
means of family regrouping (Rosario del and Manzano Sánchez, 2007).
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that the average age of Ukrainian migrants is 36 years old. In addition, the level of education
is relatively high; almost half of the respondents declared that they had secondary education
and more than a third claimed to have tertiary education. At the time this study was carried
out, the employment rate among Ukrainian migrants was 76%, making it one of the most
economically active groups.
Table 2 shows results of Firth corrected binomial logit regression predicting the
likelihood of participation in three specific transnational activities3:
H1 Family type
Our study reveals that family is one of the crucial links that tie migrants to their
origins. In general, the pattern of effects observed in logit regression is consistent with the
hypotheses we outlined earlier. Firstly, we observed that multilocal family members are
substantially more likely to visit their communities of origin. Having at least one member of
the immediate family in Ukraine increases the odds of visiting this country at least once after
moving to Spain by a factor of 2.4. As expected, migrants with multilocal families tend to
communicate by telephone more frequently than other categories of migrants. Finally, the
geographic dispersion of the family is also a very significant factor when determining
strategies related to remittances. Belonging to multilocal family increases the likelihood of
sending money at least once a year by a factor of 3.8. The significant differences in this
transnational practice between multilocal family members and migrants whose entire
immediate family live in Spain suggest that the economic dependence which exists in
transnational families plays a crucial role in the creation of transnational links between
countries of destination and origin.
H2 Gender
Our analysis does not reveal significant differences between men and women
regarding visiting their country of origin. Contrary to our expectation, our results show that
immigrant men are not more likely than women to send money home. This data confirms that
male breadwinner migration is not a prevalent migratory model among Ukrainians in Spain.
Nonetheless, in terms of communicating with the community of origin, immigrant women are
over two times more likely than men to maintain telephone contact with relatives or friends
living in Ukraine. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that differences between
genders in terms of transnational practices emerge when the activities do not require a
considerable economic cost (such as the cost of a trip home or sending money). In this sense,
the fact that women are more likely to maintain telephone contact with their communities of
origin, regardless of their family situation, confirms observations in other studies indicating
that women have stronger emotional ties to their countries of origin than men.
3
The statistical robustness of models was validated using standard procedures. Firstly, our models were
examined by Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit tests in order to determine whether our equations adequately
described the analysed phenomenon. We observed that divergences between observed and predicted values were
moderate. On the other hand, Nagelkerke's pseudo-R² value in each model is relatively low which suggests that
overall predicative power of our models should be considered with considerable caution. Nevertheless, it should
be pointed out that the aim of our study is mainly confirmatory and we concentrate on testing hypothesis
regarding specific transnational behaviour. From this point of view, we may confirm that penalized logit
regression models based on Firth correction provided coherent results.
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Table 2. Results of Firth corrected binomial logit regression on transnational practices (odds
ratios)
Visits to country
Telephone
Remittances
of origin
contact
(Ref. at least once (Ref. category: At
(Ref. at least
ever)
least once a
once a year)
month)
OR
SE
OR
SE
OR
SE
1.81
0.712
2.04 ** 0.843 0.88
Multilocal families
2.40 **
1.070
No immediate family
0.55
0.287
2.39 ** 1.215 3.78 *** 1.446
0.36 * 0.182 0.26 ** 0.126
Legal situation (undocumented ref.)
0.07 ***
0.047
0.50
0.296 0.38 **
0.166
Age
0.98
0.019
0.99
0.021 1.00
0.018
Time since arrival
1.47 ***
0.137
0.86
0.085 1.14
0.095
Years of education
1.04
0.045
1.04
0.047 0.99
0.039
0.84 *
0.074 0.86 *
0.063
16.95 0.29
1.988
Gender (Male ref.)
0.432
Family type (Non-multilocal families ref.)
Occupational situation (employed ref.)
0.91
0.077
Intercept
2.78
4.045 10.40 *
Observations
Nagelkerke Pseudo R²
223
223
223
0.0679
0.1316
0.1847
*p< 0.05; **p< 0.01; ***p< 0.001
H3 Legal status
Regarding the impact of legal status on transnational practices, we observed that
undocumented migrants have substantially lower odds (approximately 95%) of visiting
Ukraine every two years or more frequently. The main factor that determines this behaviour is
that Ukrainian citizens are required to have a visa to enter countries that comprise the free
movement area established by the Schengen Agreement. It should be added that for irregular
migrants the requirements to obtain a residence permit are important factors when it comes to
devising strategies of transnational mobility. One of the main requirements for the latest
regularisation that took place in the spring of 2005 was to prove that the immigrant had been
living in Spain prior to August 2004 and to be in possession of a work contract for a minimum
period of 6 months (3 months in the case of the agricultural sector) (Kostova, 2005). In order
for an immigrant to obtain legal status through Settlement Program, which is independent of
the processes of extraordinary regularisation, applicants must prove that they have lived
continuously in Spain for a minimum of two years and have worked at least for one year
during that time (Aguilera, 2006). Therefore, the possibility of obtaining a residence permit
might reduce the transnational mobility of migrants and transform temporary migration into
long term or even permanent migration. Logit regression models also show that irregular
status affects the frequency of remittances. Undocumented Ukrainians are more likely to send
money at least once a year to their relatives or friends in Ukraine compared to those who
possess a residence permit. Finally, contrary to our expectations, irregular migrants in Spain
do not tend to maintain a higher frequency of telephone contact with people close to them
who remain in the country of origin. We were unable to confirm the existence of any
mechanism whereby irregular migrants compensate for their lack of opportunities to visit their
places of origin with more frequent indirect contact.
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Conclusions
The aim of this article was to provide empirically and statistically grounded evidence
about the factors that determine several transnational practices. Using the definition of
transnationalism proposed by Alejandro Portes et al. (1999), we have established three
empirical indicators of transnational practices: visits to the community of origin, indirect
contact and remittances. In our analysis we try to establish how factors such as gender, legal
status in Spain and the geographic dispersion of family units affect the intensity and scope of
these transnational practices.
This study confirms the results obtained by other studies that revealed how family ties
play a crucial role in the establishment and maintenance of links between places of origin and
destination. Geographic dispersion and the absence of daily contact lead members of
multilocal families to redouble their efforts to maintain links through visits, remittances and
long distance communication. Our hypotheses on gender differences in transnational
behaviour have been only partially confirmed. Only slight differences have been observed
between men and women regarding telephone contact with friends and relatives in their
communities of origin.
Finally, we observed that the legal status of Ukrainian migrants in Spain has a
profound impact on their patterns of transnational behaviour. Irregular migrants face greater
obstacles to visit their countries of origin and they also tend to send money to their
communities of origin more frequently. This pattern could have two explanations. In the first
place, visits to the place of origin (much more frequent among documented migrants, as
mentioned earlier) allow migrants to make economic contributions directly. In addition,
qualitative analyses of stated intentions to return suggest that because irregular migrants are
less secure in their possibilities of prolonging their stay in Spain they feel more closely tied to
their places of origin and this motivates them to invest or accumulate the money earned in the
country of destination back home (Hosnedlová and Stanek, 2010).
In conclusion, transnational practices develop in a context in which different forces
and tendencies intersect and collide. For instance, the development of global capitalism,
increasingly rapid means of transportation, lower travel costs and the spread of new
communication technologies allow people to travel, communicate and do business more
quickly and with greater frequency. In addition, domestic immigration policies and
international relations on the state level are important factors that determine the ways in
which transnational links are established.
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